Out on the Lake
by Pearl For Katniss
Summary: "Okay," I agree, leaning up to kiss his lips. "I'll cuddle with you now if you go swimming with me later." Katniss and Peeta spend the day on the lake. Post-Mockingjay. Everlark. One-shot.


**A cute Everlark one-shot that I've had in my head for awhile now. I finally got around to writing it recently and wanted to post it here for all of you to read. Enjoy!**

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The boat sways back and forth on the open water, making me feel sick to my stomach. I haven't been a huge fan of boats ever since we saw a few on the Victory Tour, but Peeta insisted that we bring one to the lake as soon as they arrived from District 4 yesterday. Right now he is leaning over the edge, dipping his hand in the cool water. I would be tempted to push him overboard if he knew how to swim. Not wanting to risk him drowning, I'm content to lie on my beach towel and watch as his eyes light up with wonder and delight. His face has this adorable glow to it when he sees a school of fish swim by us, their bodies almost poking out of the crystal-clear water.

"Having fun?" I ask with an amused smile on my face. It's nice to see him so happy for once instead of struggling with flashbacks and nightmares. Even I feel free of worries and the memories that normally haunt my mind. I wish life could always be this relaxing, this peaceful, this _normal_.

Cold water splashes onto my face and chest, startling me out of my thoughts. I look up to see Peeta laughing hysterically with his arms clutching his sides. Maybe I will push him overboard after all. "I'm having a blast," he says through his laughter.

I decide to forgive him this once and close my eyes, intending to let the rolling waves lull me to sleep. I'm seconds away from drifting off when more water hits my exposed neck, causing me to yelp in surprise. "Peeta Mellark, did you just splash me _twice_?"

"Maybe." He ducks when I throw an apple at his head, narrowly missing those blonde curls that I adore. "Katniss Everdeen, are you wasting _food_?" He catches the apple in midair and takes a large bite out of it, chewing it slowly and then swallowing it.

I scowl at him. "Maybe." He drops the apple back into our picnic basket as he closes the distance between us and sits on the edge of my towel, a smile on his face. I know what he wants, but he is not getting anything from me. "Go find somebody else to kiss you."

He takes my hand in his and brings it to his lips, kissing my knuckles. "The only person I want kissing me is the beautiful girl sitting in front of me." Somehow he has once again managed to break down my defenses with his sweet words. "Just one kiss. Please? Will you accept my undying love for you as an apology?"

"No." Maybe he would have taken me more seriously if not for the hint of a smile on my lips. "I expect a nice massage and a bubble bath when we get home." He opens his mouth to speak but I silence him by covering his lips with my own. Peeta is so surprised by the sudden kiss that he doesn't have time to react before I pull away. "I forgive you, Peeta. Just don't do it again."

A soft chuckle escapes his lips. "What are you going to do if I splash you again, shoot an arrow through my heart?" He places his hands over his heart and slumps to the floor in a heap, pretending to be dead. I watch the steady rise and fall of his chest for a few minutes before getting up and nudging him with my foot. He opens one eye to look at me. "You can't revive me with your toes."

"I just wanted to say that your heart is mine and I would never shoot an arrow through it. I'd shoot you in the skull instead." He stares at me for a long time before his laughter once again fills the air, startling all the wildlife in the immediate area for a second time. Does he think I'm joking? "I'm dead serious."

He reaches for my hand and I take it, pulling him to his feet. "I know you're serious. That's why it's so funny." He straightens out his wrinkled clothes before taking a step toward me, our bodies mere centimeters apart.

"You're lucky I don't push you overboard, Mellark," I say as my fingers tangle themselves into his soft curls.

"You wouldn't do that to me, Everdeen," he replies as he envelopes me in a warm embrace.

We make our way back to the towel and break apart long enough for him to spread his own towel beside mine, creating a makeshift bed. "That doesn't look comfortable, does it?" he asks as his arms encircle me once more. I look down at the makeshift bed and shrug my shoulders indifferently. Where we share our love with each other doesn't really matter to me. "No, no. I want you to be comfortable." Peeta lies down on his back and has me rest my body on top of his. "Just cuddle with me for a little while. We can do other stuff when we get home."

I couldn't have found a sweeter man to love even if I tried. Peeta is always thinking of me, always putting me before himself. Those are two qualities I am definitely lacking. "Okay," I agree, leaning up to kiss his lips. "I'll cuddle with you now if you go swimming with me later." His whole body tenses up to the point where I have to kiss him all over just to get him to relax. "Don't worry. I'll be right beside you the entire time. Nothing bad will happen to you."

He swallows hard and tries to hide his fear with a joke. "Do I get a reward for doing something that is potentially dangerous?" I tilt my head to look into those bright blue eyes of his, knowing exactly what he wants me to say. My face turns bright red in embarrassment. "I take that as a yes. So what's my reward?"

"You get to see me in a swimsuit." I'm wearing a not so revealing two piece swimsuit under my clothes, but the thought of Peeta seeing me in what can be considered a bikini is almost as embarrassing as him seeing me naked. It's not like we haven't seen each other naked before, but I'm paranoid that he will get tired of looking at my ugly scars and leave me for somebody else.

Peeta notices my discomfort like he always does and gives my cheek a quick nuzzle. "I bet it looks great on you." I shake my head and hide my flushed face in his shirt. "I promise not to stare if it makes you feel uncomfortable." Somehow I doubt he would be gawking at me like I'm a glorified piece of meat anyway.

A comfortable silence falls between us as we relax on our boat in the middle of the lake. The water is calm, quiet. I'm so relaxed, so warm in his arms that I am tempted to close my eyes and take a nap. Peeta's eyes are already closed, his hand running up and down my back soothingly. I kiss his neck every now and then, smiling when he makes subtle noises of enjoyment. For the first time in my life I feel like a normal teenage girl who is spending the afternoon with the boy she loves. Life has gotten good for us once again.

"Ready to go swimming?" I ask in an attempt to fight off sleep. We'll have to move the boat closer to the shore because the water is too deep out here for him to swim in.

His eyes snap open to look at me, his face draining of all color. "Out here?" I sit with my legs tucked under me as Peeta gets up and walks to the edge of the boat, dipping his arm in the water as far as it can go. "Katniss, I'll sink like a stone."

I make my way toward the motor and start it, my body swaying slightly as the boat roars to life. "Do you really think I would let you get into the water out here, in the middle of the lake? I want to swim with you, not drown you." He relaxes when I bring the boat closer to the shore, close enough for us to see the bottom of the lake. I switch off the motor and shed my clothes, revealing the dark green two piece swimsuit I'm wearing underneath. "Let's go."

Peeta strips down to his underwear and tosses his clothes on top of mine, a look of uncertainty on his face. He sits on the edge of the boat and removes his prosthetic. "Let's get this over with." His foot vanishes beneath the surface of the water, sending ripples in every direction.

"Wait," I tell him, placing the palm of my hand on his chest. "I'm going in first." Taking a deep breath, I jump into the water and sink all the way down to the bottom before coming back up. I'm so short that my nose barely breaks the surface even when I'm standing on my toes. "Your turn."

His hands are gripping the boat so tightly that his knuckles have turned white. "If I die, don't spend your entire life mourning my death. Move on, be happy."

"You're not going to die," I assure him. "I would never let you drown, Peeta." My words have the desired effect of reassuring him enough to get into the water. He gives me one last look before jumping toward me, his arms flailing wildly when he hits the water. I grab him around the waist and instruct him to calm down. Once he stops panicking, I show him that he can stand on the lakebed and keep his head above the water at the same time.

He hops around me excitedly, wobbling every now and then due to only having one leg. "It's easier to walk in the water without my prosthetic than it is to walk on land. I guess it's because I don't have to worry about falling."

"Try floating on your back." I let my legs slip out from under me until the only thing beneath me is water. Peeta watches me with a look of fascination and awe. I use my arms to propel myself farther into the lake, the cool water feeling good against my warm skin. "It's not too hard."

Peeta jumps to the surface and tries to keep his body above the water, his face screwed up in concentration. Slowly, his leg disappears beneath the surface, then his torso, then his neck. "Katniss," he says with a shaky voice, and I realize that he has floated away from the shallow end of the lake and can no longer reach the lakebed. "Katniss, I'm sinking."

I flip my body around and swim over to him, wrapping my arm around his waist again. "It's okay. I've got you now." He doesn't struggle, doesn't try to push me under to save himself. My presence has reassured him enough to let me take control of the situation and bring him back toward the shore. He plants his feet in the soft mud and holds me close, resting his cheek against mine. "Do you want to get back on the boat?"

"Not yet." He gives me swift kiss on the lips before taking a step backward, swaying on his foot. "I want to stay in the water for a little while longer." He sucks in a breath and vanishes under the surface, his barely visible body moving toward me at a slow pace. I watch him for a while until I realize what he is up to and begin swimming away. "No fair," he says when he resurfaces. "I was going to drag you under the water with me."

I cup my hands to collect a good amount of water and then toss it in his face. "That's for splashing me earlier." I propel myself forward and tackle him into the water, our bodies creating mini waves as we sink below the surface. Our lips meet for a brief kiss before I lead him back up for air, allowing him to take a few deep breathes before kissing him again. "And that was for trying to pull me under the water."

We begin floating toward the boat, my arms never leaving Peeta's waist. "That swimsuit really does look amazing on you, Katniss," he whispers in my ear. "You shouldn't feel embarrassed or shy around me. I'm not going to stare at your body when I can be staring into those beautiful eyes of yours."

My shoulder bumps into the side of the boat, but neither Peeta nor I make any attempt to climb out of the water and back onto it. He trusts me completely, and I am content to stay like this forever. "You don't mean that."

"Of course I do," he says as he presses his forehead to mine, our noses brushing together. "Your eyes, your smile brightens up my day like a second sun." His lips hover over mine teasingly. "I love everything about you. Everything."

I close the distance between us and kiss him urgently, hungrily. My lips are greedy while Peeta's are giving. He slows down the kiss, pours all of his love into it. He finds the tender spot on my neck with his finger, then kisses the spot lovingly. It takes all my strength not to let go of his waist and tangle my hands into my hair, but the thought of him drowning helps me resist the urge to release the tight grip I have on his body. "Peeta," I manage to say, my voice laced with desire. "Boat."

He pulls away from me, eyes wide with fear. "I almost forgot that we were in the water. Thanks for the distraction, Katniss." I help him onto the boat first, then lift myself out of the water and collapse onto our towels. It's not long before I feel Peeta's wet body curl around mine protectively. "Swimming isn't so bad as long as you are there to save me."

"You were never in any real danger." I wouldn't have let him get into the water if I wasn't completely sure that he would be safe with me. Peeta means more to me than anyone else in the world, and I would never put his life in danger for any reason.

Peeta covers me with his towel and rubs the water from my skin and hair. "I know. You have a way of always protecting me," he says as he kisses my damp hair. "Just as I have a way of always protecting you." I snuggle into his warmth and rest my head on his shoulder, my lips pressed against his neck. He finishes drying me off and then tosses the wet towel aside, content to cuddle with me some more.

"That's what we do," I reply sleepily, closing my eyes. "Protect each other from the world." The last thing I hear before drifting off into unconsciousness is Peeta telling me just how much he loves me.


End file.
